Effingham Parish Council

NEWS UPDATE

NO CHALLENGE TO BERKELEY HOMES / HOWARD OF EFFINGHAM APPEAL DECISION

Effingham Parish Council has reluctantly decided they are unable to challenge the Appeal decision, since the Council's barrister Scott Stemp has advised there is no realistic basis for a challenge in the High Court, and the risk of costs being awarded against the Council would be very high. A summary of the advice is available here.

Parish Council Chairman Arnold Pindar says "This is a devastating result for the village. The Parish Council and many local residents are deeply angry and upset, but sadly we cannot risk local tax-payers’ money in a legal challenge when we have clear advice that there are insufficient grounds.” See the Council's press release here.

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BERKELEY HOMES / HOWARD OF EFFINGHAM

APPEAL ALLOWED

The three-week Public Inquiry into the appealby Berkeley Homes and The Howard Partnership Trust against refusal of planning application 14/P/02109 was concluded on Friday 2nd June 2017. The application was to rebuild the Howard of Effingham School on Effingham Lodge Farm, paid for by enabling development of 295 new homes, all to be built on Green Belt land.The Parish Council's Press Release issued at the end of the Inquiry can be read here.

The Secretary of State has since allowed this appeal. The decision letter and the Planning Inspector's report can be downloaded here.

Parish Councillors are shocked and disappointed by this decision, which is contrary to Effingham's recently approved Neighbourhood Plan. In the coming weeks, Effingham Parish Council will take advice from our own barrister and consult with Guildford Borough Council. The Parish Council's press release in response to the decision is available here.

Effingham residents voted overwhelmingly in support of their Neighbourhood Plan in the referendum on 22 February 2018, with 93.5% voting ‘yes' in support of the Plan (843 yes votes out of 902 votes cast). From this point forward, the Effingham Neighbourhood Plan will become part of Guildford’s Development Plan, carrying full weight alongside the Local Plan in all planning decisions in Effingham ward. Around 44% of all Effingham residents voted in the referendum - a very high turnout for a Neighbourhood Plan referendum.

You can download the Referendum Version of the Neighbourhood Plan here, or a printed version is available to read in the Parish Room.

You can view further information about Effingham's Neighbourhood Plan on the Neighbourhood Plan page.

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Welcome to our website

We want to help you better understand what the Parish Council is, how it works, and what it does in the village. We also hope it will be a useful point of contact for residents who want to keep in touch with each other.

There are links and contact details for many other village organisations.

The galleon used as this website's logo is the emblem of both the Parish Council and the village. It is the Ark Royal, the flagship of the English fleet in which Lord Howard of Effingham successfully faced the Spanish Armada in 1588. Sir Walter Raleigh had the ship built at Deptford in 1587 for his own use, but before launch she was purchased by Queen Elizabeth I for £5,000. Today’s HMS Ark Royal, 5th to bear the name, is still flagship of the ‘Senior Service’ – the navy. An emblem to live up to!